Bootleg liquor has left 29 people dead and has resulted in more than 100 others being treated in hospital in northern India, officials in the state of Uttar Pradesh said.

The majority of victims were those who went to see a game of
cricket on Sunday evening in a village near the state capital,
Lucknow. There were about 200 spectators at the match, AP
reported, citing government official Anil Garg.

Conflicting reports indicated that the number of deaths was 17.

Fourteen of those admitted to medical facilities are in serious
condition, with some of them on artificial ventilators, and some
have lost their eyesight, according to local doctors.

"The symptoms gave a clear indication that these patients
were served methyl alcohol, which despite being toxic is
sometimes mixed with ethyl alcohol to make a brew cheaper,”
Dr Kausar Usman, head of the trauma center at Lucknow's King
George's Medical College, told AP.

Security forces have arrested the owner of the shop that sold the
homemade alcohol. Containers of chemical substances have been
found at the premises, and have been sent to the lab for testing.

Villager Rajesh Kumar, whose two older brothers are in the
hospital, said that the shop had always sold cheap liquor, and
many came from neighboring villages just to buy the alcohol.

Six policemen have been suspended for allegedly taking bribes to
hush up complaints against the shop, the state's top official,
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, said, adding that a "drive
will be launched against those involved in the illicit liquor
trade."

A dozen officials have also been suspended from various local
departments over negligence, government spokesman Rajendra
Chaudhary told AFP.

"The guilty will not be spared," he said.

Incidents linked with illegal alcohol are common in India, with
almost 170 people dying in 2011in the eastern state of West
Bengal. In 2009, about 90 were killed by bootleg liquor in Uttar
Pradesh, and over 100 in Gujarat.